Local officials say tax money for scoreboards makes sense

Officials from groups in San Antonio, Houston and other cities who use tax-fueled state trust funds to help lure sports competitions and conventions are pressing lawmakers to allow them to continue to use the money to upgrade public facilities.

Senate Bill 1678 by Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, and Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, would put new limits on use of the Major Events Trust Fund and Events Trust Fund, which are designed to return extra tax revenue generated by special events to the communities that host them.

The money is mean to help communities defray hosting costs. But concerns have been raised over some expenses covered by the funds, including giant video screens for facilities hosting sporting events.

Under the bill as approved by senators, if a facility improvement would provide a benefit beyond just one event, then the community could recoup only 5 percent of its cost from the trust fund.

The House changed that language to lift the cap for public buildings, applying it only to privately owned ones.

Senators don’t like the change and have called for a conference committee to work out differences.

“Our position has been that the very best use of these trust fund dollars has been to reinvest them in public facilities rather than sending these dollars back out of state to an events holder for a rights fee or some other hosting obligation,” the local officials said in a letter dated Wednesday.

Listed as signing it were Susan Blackwood of San Antonio Sports, Janis Schmees Burke of Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and officials from the Austin Sports Commission, Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau and Texas Hotel and Lodging Association.

Referring to a report of a video board and sound system installed for the publicly owned Toyota Center ahead of the NBA All Star Game, the letter said, “Due to ongoing advances in technology, these systems have a very short life and need to be replaced frequently to appease the events holders, spectators coming from out of state and members of the media providing worldwide coverage of the event.”

The Alamodome JumboTron was purchased from the Spurs in 2004 for $702,944 — along with video walls and electronic message panels — as part of $5.8 million in expense reimbursements for the NCAA Men’s Final Four. Officials have said it was a good deal.

The letter emphasized the long-term benefit to communities of public-facility investments.

Deuell likes his original language, as does Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, who also has pressed for new limits on the trust funds.
Watson said if the state is going to spend tax money to upgrade facilities in particular communities, that funding should go through the appropriations process.

“We need to write discipline into this trust fund, or we don’t need to have a trust fund,” Watson said.

Time is on the side of those opposing change. If the House and Senate don’t agree on language before the legislative session ends Monday, then the bill will die, and the proposed new limits won’t happen.